8 Days Mapping Turkey

Mapping Turkey

8 Days / 7 Nights

TOUR INCLUDES:

Guided visits in Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Esmirna

English speaking Tour Director throughout the journey
Daily breakfast
Welcome dinner in Istanbul
Farewell lunch in Ephesus
Internal flights
Transportation by luxury coach
Accommodation at selected class
Private transfers to/from airport as per itinerary
Travel insurance

TOUR DOES NOT INCLUDE

Tips are mandatory, $10 per day per person for guides & $5 per day per person for drivers.

Mapping Turkey

8 Days / 7 Nights

ITINERARY:

1st Day (Sun.) Istanbul: Meet & greet at the airport and take a private transfer to your hotel. At 19:00, meet with your Tour Director at the hotel´s Reception Desk for a welcome meeting. You will also meet your journey’s fellow travellers. Welcome Dinner in a local restaurant and accommodation at your hotel. Accommodation at your hotel. (D)

2nd Day (Mon.) Istanbul: Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. Depart from the hotel to visit the Topkapi Palace, residence of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the Sultanahmet neighbourhood with the Roman Hippodrome square, the Blue Mosque- unique among all Ottoman mosques in having 6 minarets, and the splendid 6th century Hagia Sophia Mosque. In the evening visit the Egyptian Bazaar. Accommodation at your hotel. (BL)

3rd Day (Tue.) Istanbul – Cappadocia: Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. In the morning, we will have a panoramic tour of the city, passing through the important neighborhoods of the historical part and the modern part of the city, including a walk along the pedestrian street of Istiklal. Time at leisure in the Grand Bazaar (closed on Sundays, religious holidays and on October 29), a building that houses more than 4,000 shops inside. Take a boat trip through the Bosphorus, the strait that separates Europe from Asia where we can enjoy the great beauty of the forests of Istanbul, its palaces and the yal?, wooden palaces built on both banks.After the tour, transfer to the airport to take a domestic flight to Cappadocia. Arrival in Cappadocia and transfer to your hotel. Dinner and accommodation at the hotel. (BD)

4th Day (Wed.) Cappadocia: Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. Mapping-in-Depth: Sunrise balloon ride: Optionally, depart early in the morning for a sunrise balloon ride over this amazing land. A champagne breakfast will be served. The ride takes us over unique sites such as ancient Go?reme and the mystical Fairy Chimneys and lush landscape. For those who do not wish to take the ride, a delectable buffet breakfast awaits them, and there will be an opportunity to wander in the nearby remarkable cave shops and boutiques. Upon returning from the balloon ride, we’ll visit this fantastic region. Its fascinating and original landscape was formed by the lava spewed by the Erciyes and Hasan volcanoes 3 million years ago. Depart to visit the many monasteries and chapels in the Go?reme valley, carved into the rocks and decorated with frescoes. Continue with a visit of the Avcilar and Gu?vercinlik valleys which have a spectacular landscape of the ‘Fairy Chimneys’ and the troglodyte town of Uc?hisar, with its landscape and its fortress of the time carved into the rock. The visit to Cappadocia will also give you the opportunity to visit the typical workshops of Turkish carpets. Mapping-in-Depth:. Experience the ceremony of whirling dervishes. Dinner and accommodation at your hotel. (BD)

5th Day (Thu.) Cappadocia – Konya: Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. In the morning, visit a traditional pottery workshop, and then see a well-preserved 13th-century caravanserai, at which weary travellers used to rest on route. Visit the underground city of Serhatl?, built by Christian communities to protect themselves from Arab attacks. Once in Konya, we’ll tour the monastery of the Mevlana whirling dervishes, a fascinating insight into traditional Turkish culture. Dinner and accommodation at your hotel. (BD)

6th Day (Fri.) Konya – Pamukkale: Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. We will depart today to Pamukkale, a natural wonder with a gigantic white waterfall, stalactites, and natural pools from hot springs. It is famous for its petrified calcareous waterfalls created by the lime deposits from the flowing water in the region. We will then visit Hierapolis, a necropolis with more than 150,000 tombs. Dinner and accommodation at your hotel. (BD)

7th Day (Sat.) Pamukkale – Ephesus – Izmir – Istanbul: Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. Depart to Ephesus, the capital of Asia Minor in Roman times.Visit the archaeological vestiges, where the temple of Hadrian and the library of Celso are a stand out feature. We will have the chance to visit a typical fur production centre. Afterwards join your fellow travellers for a Farewell Lunch at a local restaurant in Ephesus. In the evening, depart to Izmir’s airport for a flight back to Istanbul. Accommodation at your hotel. (BD)

8th Day (Sun.) Istanbul: Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. Take a private transfer to the airport. END OF OUR SERVICES.